


Saints & Sinners

by fallingintoimagination, maddierose



Category: The Order (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M, Half-Siblings, Older Man/Younger Woman, Sex, Teacher-Student Relationship, Werewolves, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:48:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24830074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallingintoimagination/pseuds/fallingintoimagination, https://archiveofourown.org/users/maddierose/pseuds/maddierose
Summary: Rory just wants to get through sophomore year at Belgrave University and reach the rank of magistratus, but when you're the only daughter of Edward Coventry, life is bound to be complicated. Grace Farrow didn't want to have to deal with chatting to more of the dead, yet when there's murders on campus, they just don't stop talking.
Relationships: Hamish Duke/Original Female Character(s), Randall Carpio/Original Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	1. The Princess and the Banshee

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! Welcome to our fic. We've had this planned since Season 1, but decided to put it up when the second season came out. Our original characters are Aurora Coventry, Edward's only daughter and eldest child, and Grace Farrow who has mysterious abilities not related to The Order. Any warnings will be at the start of the chapter.

**Warnings: drug use mention; underage drinking**

Parties were the norm at Belgrave University when term started up, and Aurora Coventry was a regular attendee. Sure, this was only her second year at the university, but she’d definitely made her way into several social circles. Considering her dad was  _ the _ Edward Coventry, even people in The Order who she’d never associated with knew who she was. Being the daughter of the Grand Magus tended to have that effect.

Frat parties particularly were the sort of scene that Rory frequented, along with her best friend Alyssa Drake. Alyssa was the sensible one – most of the time, she’d end up holding back Rory’s red hair as Rory threw up into a bush or toilet. Once term started up, Rory got her act together…mostly. But tonight, she was content with a mini-skirt and a top that displayed a fair amount of cleavage.

The girls were sipping a generic punch on the front porch of some frat house when Rory spotted Kyle headed in their direction. He was in the year above them, and Alyssa’s ex-boyfriend. Not that they’d exactly dated for ages.

“Great, here we go…” Alyssa muttered into her red punch cup. Of all the guys that Rory wanted to hook up with, Kyle did not even make an appearance on the list.

“Ladies.”

“Kyle.” Rory leaned against the wooden railing, taking another sip of her punch. Kyle had been trying to get in her pants since last year, after he and Alyssa had broken up. It hadn’t worked too well for him.

“How’s your night?”

“Solid.” Rory shrugged, holding up her nearly empty red cup. “This punch is weak as, though.”

Kyle removed a silver flask from his pocket and offered it to her. Ignoring Alyssa’s disapproving eyebrow raise, Rory took a swig before handing it back to him. She noticed that he was smirking and sighed.

“Something amusing?”

“You look good.” Kyle’s eyes raked over her body. She was hardly dressed for his benefit, but because she felt confident in what she was wearing. She wasn’t going to get all shy just because he felt like staring at her boobs.

“Thanks,” Rory said, flipping her red hair over her shoulder. She resisted adding  _ I know _ , because it made guys think women were arrogant, as if only they were allowed to realise a woman was good-looking. She noticed that Kyle was still hanging around. “Yes?”

“Wanna go out back?” Kyle jerked a thumb toward the frat house. 

“Whatever for?” Rory tilted her head to the side, although she had a pretty damn good idea what Kyle was aiming for. She didn’t particularly want to go with him, but she was also curious as to just what he thought he could get away with.

“To talk.”

Rory and Alyssa exchanged a look. Alyssa rolled her eyes, and Rory just grinned. They both knew what Kyle intended, and it didn’t involve talking. Alyssa had only slept with him twice, and told Rory that he was a shitty lay, so Rory wasn’t particularly interested even if he hadn’t been a massive jerk.

“Talk about what?” she asked.

“You’ll find out.”

“Alright.” Rory knew she was more than capable of handling Kyle. She wasn’t meant to use magic in the open, but she had the impression that Kyle wanted them to be alone. He was the more practised, yet Rory had more natural talent. Alyssa’s lips were pressed together in a thin line. She knew how things were going to go, but tonight it seemed like she wasn’t amused by Rory’s games.

Rory followed Kyle through the chaos that was inside the frat house, nimbly weaving through people and ignoring the pulse of the music. Kyle pushed open the screen back door and Rory followed him outside. This was not going to go the way he wanted it to, but Kyle had been bugging her for long enough that he needed to learn a lesson. If a girl wasn’t interested, you didn’t continually push.

“Yes?”

Kyle looped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him. Rory teetered a moment in her heels, almost losing her balance at the sudden movement. She had to grip Kyle’s shirt sleeve to steady herself. He probably thought that it was deliberate, that she wanted to be closer to him.

“Kyle. What are we discussing?”

He didn’t seem to get that she didn’t want to hook up. “Whatever you want.”

Rory made a noise of disgust. “Dude, really? Get to the point or I’m going inside.”

Kyle pressed his lips to hers, kissing her hard. Rory immediately bit him, making him yelp and wrench away. She was viciously glad to see him reach up to his lip and wipe away blood. His brow contorted into a frown, but they both knew he wouldn’t touch her. She was Edward Coventry’s daughter, after all.

“Fuck off, Kyle.”

* * *

Grace bopped her head along to the music as she looked through her study notes. She had been studying for the past few hours while Lilith watched a show and spoke with Hamish over a drink. She wasn’t sure where Randall was, and she hadn’t gotten a text from him in a while so she was mildly worried. Not that he couldn’t handle himself if he had gotten into any kind of trouble. 

“Randall.” Hamish was the first to greet the third member of their pack, Randall raising an eyebrow at the tone he was greeted in. “You’re back late.”

Grace slipped her headphones out as she glanced between the two males. She could feel the tension in the room. Randall shrugged before responding to Hamish, flopping down on the couch. “What? There was a frat party on and the temptation to pop in was strong.”

“Typical.” Grace wasn’t even remotely surprised with his defense to Hamish’s annoyance at him being home late. 

“Why? Has everyone else been really productive or something?” Randall questioned, wondering why he was under interrogation. It wasn’t like he’d missed something overly important, based on how everyone was relaxing. 

“I’ve studied. They’ve been drinking.” Grace informed him as she stowed her headphones away, closing the text books that were sprawled in front of her. 

Hamish moved from where he was standing in the corner of the room to join Lilith on the couch, swirling his drink. “We had an idea.”

Randall dumped his bag on the ground before joining Grace on the floor. “What’s the idea?”

“Grace is going to become friends with Rory.” Hamish announced, prompting Grace to frown at him, confusion evident on her face. 

Randall was also confused by the words from his friends mouth.“By Rory, you do mean Aurora Coventry, daughter of Edward Coventry and Belgrave legacy?”

“I avoid the Order for good reason.” Grace pointed out. She didn’t much like the idea of the Order discovering what she could do. In fact Hamish was the only one who knew out of the three of her friends. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust the others, it was just something that had never really come up in conversation. 

“You’re a nice person. Use it to your advantage.” Hamish shrugged, finishing his drink. 

Randall nodded slowly, taking in the information, though he was still unsure of what they hoped to achieve with the plan. “Why do you want to befriend her?”

“Correction. I don’t want to, Hamish and Lil want me to.” Grace reminded them, having had no say in the matter. 

“She has the best chance to learn anything.” Hamish thought his reasoning was pretty sound, whether his friend wanted to do it or not, she had the best chance of getting close enough to Rory to learn anything. “Because she’s female and nice.” 

Grace frowned, not liking that she was the one being offered up for bait. “Why don’t you do it?”

“There’s no way she’d ever trust me.” One, he was older than her, and two he was a teacher. Hamish knew he’d have limited luck, or reason, to engage with her himself. 

“Plus you teach. Students don’t trust teachers.” Randall grinned, earning a glare from Hamish. Not that he was lying, it was true that many students wouldn’t trust a teacher that wasn’t theirs. “What? Back me up here guys.”

“I don’t take sides.” Grace reminded him. She didn’t want any of them thinking she was picking favourites. She pushed herself to her feet, shoving her books out of the way. “I’m gonna make food.” 

“Think this is seriously a good idea?” Randall was concerned with the backlash that could fall back on Grace. He didn’t want to see his friend getting hurt all because Hamish wanted to use her to gain information instead of just doing it himself. “I don’t think Aurora’s as much of an airhead as you’re seeming to assume.”

“I’m sure Grace can handle herself.” Hamish assured him, leaning back against the couch. They needed information and Grace was their best bet right now, even if Randall didn’t want her doing it. 

* * *

_ The Blade and Chalice _ was Belgrave’s campus bar, and one of the locations that Alyssa and Rory frequented. Even though they weren’t legally old enough to drink, every now and then Rory could flirt her way into getting them alcoholic beverages. Today though, they were sipping Coca Cola while Alyssa went over one of Rory’s essays. Rory was grateful her best friend was such a nerd, because her papers would suck otherwise.

“How’s Kyle going after you bit him?” Alyssa asked, taking a break from editing to sip her drink. Rory was relieved to see only minimal red pen markings on the page. Alyssa could be ruthless with her work sometimes.

“Pissed,” Rory admitted gleefully, “But he knows he can’t do anything about it. He wouldn’t want to get on the Grand Magus’s bad side.”

Rory sipped her drink as she watched Alyssa continue to patiently edit her first essay of the term. She really didn’t much like her course, but she was in her sophomore year now, so she felt that she had no choice but to continue. Across the bar, a guy that Rory vaguely recognised was harassing a blonde girl. She got to her feet and crossed over. She might not know the girl well – she thought she was a little familiar – but she didn’t put up with men’s bullshit.

“Hey, loser,” Rory called, “She doesn’t seem interested.”

The guy scoffed as he looked at her. “How would you know, princess?”

“She’s right,” the girl piped up, “So beat it.”

The guy scowled but walked off, and Rory raised her eyebrows in the girl’s direction. She was trying to remember her name. They weren’t in the same field of study, and she didn’t know if they had any classes together. After a moment, it came to her, and she smiled brightly.

“Grace, right?” She tilted her head to the side, hoping that she’d gotten the name right, but the girl was nodding.

“Yeah. Rory?”

“Was he bothering you?” Rory gestured to the guy, who was hurriedly marching from the bar. She thought his name was Randall or something, but she wasn’t entirely sure.

“Only a little,” Grace admitted, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. She seemed fairly shy. Rory couldn’t remember seeing her at any of the frat parties she’d been to. As always, she felt the need to kick ass on another girl’s behalf, especially if that girl was too polite to do it herself. Rory was more than happy to activate bitch mode.

“Well, if he ever does again, let me know.”

She returned to the table where Alyssa hadn’t looked up from the essay. Nonetheless, Rory could feel her best friend’s disapproval. Rory had a ‘fight me’ nature that Alyssa certainly didn’t share.

“Do you have to try and fight every guy who acts like a jerk?”

“Pretty much, yeah.” Rory shrugged her shoulders. She had the sort of influence that other girls didn’t, and she was determined to use that. She considered herself to be fairly untouchable. Why not use that to the advantage of herself and any other girls having to deal with assholes?

* * *

After her last class on a Friday, Rory and some of the other Business & Human Resources students would head behind the library and smoke weed. It was harmless, and most of the time the teachers didn’t check back there. It was starting to get dark and the others had already left for their Friday night mischief, but Rory leaned against the wall and took a drag from her cigarette. She texted Alyssa about ordering a pizza – she was seriously starting to get the munchies.

“Weed? Really?” It was an unfamiliar, disapproving male voice.

Rory almost jumped out of her skin. “Jesus.”

“You should put that out.” The guy was a bit older than her, mid-twenties probably, the same age as her uncle Sydney or close enough to. He was dressed well, like he’d just got out of some important meeting. He was attractive too, despite the contemptuous expression as he examined the cigarette in her hand.

“It’s good.” She offered it to him. “Want a puff?”

“No thanks. Put it out.”

“I don’t think so.” Rory took another puff, blowing out smoke to demonstrate her boldness. “I’m not a frosh and I’m not intimidated by older guys telling me what to do.”

The guy didn’t appear thrilled by her attitude. “Well, I’m not a student, so I suggest you put it out.”

“Oh, so you’re trespassing?” Rory arched an eyebrow. It wouldn’t be the first time. Some of the girls had guys come around, probably Tinder hook-ups or something of the like. This guy didn’t look like a Tinder hook-up.

“I’m a teacher.”

“Uh huh.” She raised her eyebrows, disbelieving. “What do you teach?”

“Philosophy.” He took the cigarette from her, putting it out.

“Hey!” she protested indignantly, folding her arms over her chest. She didn’t really care if he was a teacher or not. “Not cool.”

“Too bad.”

She planted her hands on her hips. “Do you even know who you’re talking to?”

“Edward Coventry’s daughter.” He didn’t appear too impressed or worried. “I know who you are.”

“You look too young to be a teacher.” She looked him over. Surely he wasn’t that much older than her. “How old are you?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Why does that matter?”

“Curious.” She shrugged her shoulders, tossing her red hair over her shoulder. “I’m nineteen. I’m gonna go with…twenty-six?”

“Close enough.” The man grabbed her arm. “Come on. You need food.”

“Whoa, alright.” Rory did not like being grabbed by random people she didn’t know. She wrenched her arm out of his grasp, but followed him regardless. He led her to the closest campus café. It was quiet – on Fridays, people were more likely to frequent the bar. The guy led Rory over to a table, and she sat down with a smirk playing about her lips 

“If you wanted to go on a dinner date, you could just have asked.”

“I don’t.” He tossed her a menu, causing her to sigh dramatically. “I just want to make sure you sober up quickly.”

A tired-looking waitress came over to take their order. The guy ordered a cappuccino, whilst Rory mumbled something about the fries with gravy. She busied herself pouring glasses of water as the waitress left again. The guy watched her take a few sips, and she raised her eyebrows at his scrutiny.

“So. English student?”

She shook her head. “Business & Human Resources.”

“Why’d you choose that?” he asked.

“Mum thought it’d be good for me.” When the fries arrived, Rory had to admit that she was indeed hungry. She immediately started to shovel some into her mouth, examining the man again. “You’re cute for a teacher.”

He didn’t seem to know whether to appear flattered or not. “Thanks.”

“Do you think I’m cute?” Rory tilted her head to the side. She took after her dad in terms of appearance – red hair, a freckled complexion, but with her mother’s bright blue eyes. The man busied himself sipping his cappuccino.

“I don’t think that’s an appropriate question for me to answer.”

Rory finished the fries, wiping her hands on some serviettes. Her eyes scanned over the menu, and the man seemed to notice.

“More food?”

She smirked. “Such a gentleman.”

“You look hungry,” he said.

“I’ve had nicer compliments.” Rory didn’t really feel like more food at the moment, especially not if she was potentially getting a pizza with Alyssa later. “You could escort me back to my room.”

“Come on.” The man paid the bill, and Rory didn’t make any comment. He’d been the one to insist that she needed food, after all. They headed back to the dormitories, and she wondered why exactly he felt obligated to follow her around. Was it because of who she was, and he felt he needed to keep her out of trouble?

“What’s your name?” Rory asked as they reached her dorm room, realising she didn’t actually know it. She fumbled in her bag for her keys, before extricating them with a pleased exclamation.

“Hamish Duke.”

Rory unlocked the door, opening the door and glancing over her shoulder, offering Hamish a flirtatious smile. She leaned in the doorframe, folding her arms over her chest.

“You don’t want to come in?”

He sighed, shaking his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Oh, right. Teacher, student.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, smiling deviously. “Technically you aren’t  _ my _ teacher.”

“I’m aware,” he said dryly, looking mildly amused.

“Night, Hamish.” Rory waved enthusiastically before closing the door and locking it. She was privileged enough to have her own dorm room – perks of being Edward’s daughter, she didn’t have to share with someone else. Flopping on her bed, she released a happy sigh. Meeting new people was always thrilling to her, especially when they were cute.

* * *

"So, how did I do?" Randall grinned at Grace as she walked in from her run, referring to his performance earlier on in the day. 

Grace shook her head, kicking off her shoes and throwing her headphones into her bag by the door before flopping beside him. “You were great."

"Did she fall for it?" Randall was quite pleased with himself for acting his part exactly how he needed to. 

"She sure did." Grace smiled, stretching herself out on the lounge beside him. Her legs were sore, but it was a good kind of pain. She just wanted to make herself comfy now. "Sorry for being a bitch earlier." 

"Hey, it's cool." Randall assured her, raising an eyebrow as she leant over and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "Someone's affectionate."

"And that is bad?" She questioned, grabbing the playstation controller from him. 

Randall shook his head, watching as she flicked through the horror movies on Netflix. "No."

It took another ten or so minutes before Grace settled on a movie that she liked the look of. She always did enjoy watching ghost horror movies, even if most of them were ridiculous and factually incorrect. She glanced across at Randall as he let out a loud yawn before stretching out, giving her a moment to properly admire him. He was attractive, and wasn’t overly arrogant about it.

Randall smirked at her and she raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

"You're checking me out." He winked at her, slinging an arm around her shoulders so the two of them were closer together. "So did you wanna act on that or?"

Grace paused for a moment, noticing Randall’s lack of ability to take initiative, before she shifted in his lap. Ignoring the movie behind her, she pressed her lips to his, pressing closer to him as his hands moved up to rest on her hips. She slid her arms around his neck as he pulled her closer, kissing along her jaw and down the side of her neck as her hands began to roam down his chest. 

Grace grinned at him, her hands tugging at the bottom of his shirt as his hands moved up to her waist, moving under the crop top she was wearing. The two of them were happily lost in their makeout session, hands roaming over each other as Randall kissed down her neck. Grace let her head fall to the side happily before a grating sound reached her ears. She drew away from Randall, frowning as she pushed herself to her feet. 

"What?" Randall was worried that he had done something to upset her, considering she seemed to be enjoying it only moments before. 

Grace headed towards the front door, the sound growing louder as she did. "I heard something." 

“What kind of something? I don't hear anything." For as long as he had known her, he hadn’t realised that she had better hearing than him. Surely he would’ve been able to hear something before her with his enhanced senses, but everything sounded the same around them. Down to the birds in the trees and their chatter. "Uh, Grace?"

"Shush." She waved at him, standing on the front porch, her eyes scanning the trees. The grating noise was making more sense to her now, and a cold shiver went through her. She couldn’t make out the death omen, but it was definitely there. "You should do a round of the grounds tonight. I think someone is in danger."

"Who...?" Randall was now extremely confused. 

"I don't know.' Grace answered him as she walked back inside, raking a hand through her hair. She could never tell who the person was unless she was close to them, physically or emotionally. "Just trust me."

"Okay, so someone is danger. What now?" Randall sat back on the couch, watching as Grace paced in front of him, clearly on edge. He wasn’t so sure he believed her, but he also didn’t believe she was a raging lunatic. "Like, is there a lead on from that?"

“I don't know. Someone is just going to die, I think. At least from what I felt." She tried to explain. It was hard for her to articulate the feeling she got. It was strange, and always made her feel cold. Sometimes she could see a ghost of a vision, and other times she just knew right down to her core that someone was going to die. "Just trust me, okay?"

Randall was almost ready to pull his hair out in frustration. He did trust her, but he also didn’t know why he was needing to trust someone’s hunch when there was nothing to back it up. "Trust you on what? What makes you so sure that someone is going to die tonight?"

Grace sighed heavily. She hated explaining what she was to people, and what she could do, especially when she didn’t even fully understand herself. But she knew Randall’s secret, and she figured if she was asking him to trust her on something, then she needed to offer up the information as to why. "I'm a banshee. I get to see people die before they die. Although the future is fluid so.."

"Oh. Wow." Randall mused, patting the spot beside him and waiting for her to sit down. "That's cool."

"Really?" Grace hadn’t ever had someone tell her that her being a banshee was cool before, not that anyone really knew aside from her father. "Thanks. I think."


	2. Mutual Attraction

**Warnings: none**

Between her classes, study and Order meetings, Rory didn’t exactly get a lot of free time. When she did, she usually didn’t do much of anything interesting. She felt like one of those boring Cosmo girls who just did face masks and hair treatments. Tonight it was nails, and she was intent on giving herself a hot-pink pedicure.

Rory was considering her interaction with Hamish Duke. She didn’t study Philosophy, but she probably had a handful of friends in one of his classes. He was definitely cute. Not many guys were what Rory considered ‘off limits’, but as a teacher, he probably was. She liked off limits. It meant a challenge. As a prodigal daughter with a powerful family and even more powerful magic of her own, lots of guys tended to be intimidated by Rory. Not that it mattered to them when they were drunk and looking to score.

“You seem happy,” Alyssa said slyly as Rory hummed a pop tune under her breath, setting the nail polish aside and examining her toes. 

“I wouldn’t say happy.” Rory swept her red hair over her shoulder. “More like...intrigued. Have you met the Philosophy associate professor?”

Alyssa considered the question, brow furrowing as she shook her head. “Only in passing.”

“He’s cute, huh.” Rory flashed her a grin, even though Hamish was so not Alyssa’s type.

“I guess,” Alyssa didn’t seem convinced, but Rory didn’t exactly trust her best friend’s taste in men. Alyssa was smart and pretty, and could do so much better than douchebags like Kyle, but that tended to be what she went for, unfortunately.

“Well, I think he is,” Rory declared, as if that was all that mattered, “I bet he’d be a good lay.”

Alyssa arched an eyebrow. “Why is that?”

“Older guys usually are.” Rory reconsidered her statement as she twisted open the lid of a glittery nail polish and started applying it. “Bet Kyle was shit though, right?”

“Definitely,” Alyssa confirmed, causing the freckled girl to pull a face. “Well, go for it.”

“Thanks for the permission.” Rory blew gently on her nails. She might rant to Alyssa about men, but she also made her own choices at the end of the day. Alyssa probably thought it was weird that Rory wanted to sleep with a teacher, but she also knew that Rory had a preference for older men.

“Are you gonna ask him out?” Alyssa asked.

“Hmm.” A smirk curved the corners of Rory’s lips. “Not exactly. Dating isn’t exactly what I’m going for.”

“Sex,” Alyssa said without a moment of hesitation.

Rory laughed. Her best friend really did know her too well. Rory had never been in a proper relationship. She thought mostly guys were too scared of her dad and what might happen if they broke her heart. It didn’t bother her, but it did mean she gunned for physical intimacy with guys rather than an emotional connection.

* * *

"How cute." Hamish commented as he observed how Grace and Randall had fallen asleep on the couch, happily curled up against each other. He knew it wouldn’t take long for them to get together, especially with the constant teasing from himself and Lilith.

"Huh?" Randall shifted as his friend’s words disturbed his sleep. He rubbed his eyes as he felt Grace shift beside him, launching a pillow at Hamish’s head for disturbing them. 

Lilith shook her head as she watched the three of them, dumping her bag on the floor. "Hamish has interesting news."

"What news is that?" Grace inquired, a yawn leaving her mouth as she pushed her hair from her face. 

Lilith grinned as she sat opposite the two on the couch. "He had an encounter with the precious princess." 

"She has a name.” Hamish wasn’t a fan of the nicknames that she had been given by his friends. He knew they wanted to use her for information, but he was genuinely interested in her and didn’t want them to jeopardize it. 

Grace was curious now. She had been the initial person they decided was going to get information from Rory, but it seemed that Hamish might be on a better path of discovery than she had been. "How did that go?"

“She was high." Hamish explained as he poured himself a drink, leaning against the bar. 

Grace shrugged her shoulders before stretching out. Maybe it was worthwhile for him to work on getting the information over her. Afterall, he had something that Grace couldn’t offer to her. "You should get in her pants."

"That, is actually a good idea." Randall considered it for a moment before nodding his head, grinning acros at Hamish who now had a frown plastered to his face. 

"That's a terrible idea." Hamish shook his head. He was a teacher and she was a student, meaning that if anything happened it could end very badly for both of them. 

"You don't think she's attractive?" Randall raised an eyebrow. He knew that wasn’t the reason, but he wanted Hamish to admit that he found her attractive, it would make convincing him all the easier. 

Hamish sighed heavily, shaking his head. "She is, but she's a student."

"She's not your student." Lilith pointed out to him, which he had already previously thought of. 

"You want info on the Order or what?" Randall pressed, crossing his arms over his chest. He was all for Grace helping them, but he didn’t want her putting herself in harm's way when it was Hamish who was pushing for the information. 

Hamish squeezed the bridge of his nose before downing the rest of his drink. He knew this conversation was going to go around in circles. "I suppose I can see her again."

Randall smirked, pleased with himself that he had annoyed Hamish into agreeing to do his own dirty work to find information on Rory. "Excellent."

* * *

“Hey, Dad.”

Rory strode into her dad’s office with a spring in her step. She was one of the few people who had nearly constant access to the Grand Magus’s private quarters. Edward looked up, raising his eyebrows at her appearance. They saw each other a lot due to his vital role at Belgrave University in the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose.

“How is study going?”

“Good. I study very hard.” Rory’s expression was deadpan, but they both knew that wasn’t always the case. A grin spread across her face a moment later. “How’s the brat?”

“Your brother is fine.” Maddox was only Rory’s half-brother really, but the two shared a strong bond. Maddox looked up to his big sister, and aspired to be like her one day.

“And the neophytes?” Rory was eager to see how this year’s bunch was going. She had been the clear standout during her own initiation the year before, even though Edward had tried to make things harder for her to avoid the accusation of favouritism. 

“They are promising this year.”

Rory tilted her head to the side. “As promising as me.”

“No,” Edward admitted, causing a smirk to grace Rory’s freckled face. “But you are one of the best.”

“I take after you.” Rory had never been good at pretending to be modest or humble. “And Mum.”

“More so me.” Edward closed the book he had been surveying upon her entrance. “I’m more powerful than your mother.”

Rory shrugged nonchalantly. “Her power interested you enough for you to fuck her.”

Edward Coventry and Bella Scott had been students at Belgrave University when they’d met. Edward had been a handful of years older and still making something of himself, but the Scott family were old money and old magic. Rory had probably been conceived on this very campus. Her parents had never married and they’d split when she was little, leaving her to split time between them. She also had a close bond with Sydney, her maternal uncle, who was less than a decade her senior.

Edward sighed. “Why are we discussing this?”

“Dunno. Because it’s only the union that produced the most amazing specimen ever.” She flicked her hair back. “Aka me. You two talk?”

“Not anymore. No need to.”

“She’s a member of the Order,” Rory pointed out. Now that she was nineteen, it was true that her parents didn’t exactly need to speak. She was a legal adult. “So it would be in your interest to, you know, communicate.”

Rory thought on her parents’ relationship and cringed a bit. They had both been so young. She couldn’t imagine having a kid at her age. She was still a teenager, and way too invested in other things.

“She was like, my age when she got pregnant with me.”

“I know.” Edward nodded. “We were both happy to have you.”

They were both young and barely knew what the hell they were doing, but Rory supposed that they weren’t wrong. Although she’d been little when they’d separated, they’d still prioritised Rory, even when Edward had gone on to marry and have a son with another woman.

“She still cares about you,” Rory admitted, knowing her mum would kill her for telling her dad as much, “Even if she has had like, multiple boyfriends.”

Bella was a serial dater, which is where Rory supposed she’d gotten her nonchalant attitude toward having flings. Not that her mother knew she’d hooked up with her uncle Sydney’s friends when she was younger. Bella would murder them if she did.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen your mother,” Edward said. The two tended to avoid each other at Order functions.

“I’m aware.” Rory folded her arms. The two weren’t exactly immature in their approach, but she kind of wished that her parents were on speaking terms.

“Does that annoy you?” Edward asked, leaning back in his chair and clasped his hands. People always said that Rory looked so much like her dad. They were both freckled gingers, she supposed. She tilted her head to the side.

“Depends, are you avoiding her?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Good.” Rory beamed, before changing the subject to make it about her again. She was very good at that. “I’m planning to make Magistratus this year.”

“You’d need to work hard,” Edward stated, as if Rory thought she’d get by on merit alone. Her dad was always harder on her than on the others, and she understood that.

“I always do, Dad.” She rolled her eyes. “I know you can’t show favouritism.”

“Go study.” Edward placed his book in one of the drawers when she craned her neck to get a look at what it was. When she turned to leave, he called after her. “Family dinner tonight.”

“With Maddox too?” Rory asked, hopeful. She did always like seeing her little brother. The kid could be annoying, but he was family, and she’d do anything to protect him. Perks of being a badass big sister, she supposed.

“Yes.”

* * *

"Guess what?" Randall called out to his three friends as he walked into the kitchen. Grace was in one corner baking, while Lilith sat at the table studying and Hamish stood on the opposite side of the room, drink in hand. 

"You and Grace finally had sex?" Hamish questioned, causing Grace to almost drop the tray in her hand. 

"No. What is your focus on that? Talk about invested..." Randall rolled his eyes, walking over to the bowl of cupcake batter and grabbing the spoon. He assumed Grace was done with the bowl as he put the spoon in his mouth. He really did love her baking. 

Hamish wrinkled his nose, taking another sip of his drink. "We can smell the lust coming off the two of you. It's gross."

"Almost as bad as you and Princess Aurora. Anyway, no, that's not what." Randall switched the topic, not wanting to get into a debate with Hamish about his powers or the nickname he had dubbed Rory with. "Grace has cool powers."

"Randall!" Grace snapped at him, a scowl forming across her features. "Not your information to share."

Lilith and Hamish both gave her a questioning look, the two of them speaking up at the same time. "What powers?"

I'm a banshee." Grace explained with a sigh, raising an eyebrow as they gave her questioning looks, clearly confused. "I can talk to the dead."

"That's impressive." Hamish nodded, putting his glass down. It could be useful having someone like her around in light of recent events. 

“But like, who died?" Randall questioned, having heard about a death on campus but he also hadn’t been told any further information. It hadn’t been to do with them so it left them with few options. "Reckon it was the Order?"

"Could've been." Hamish shrugged. "We aren't really sure."

Grace set the timer on the cupcakes before checking her phone, leaning against the bench. "Could've been anything."

"You know who you could ask..." Randall looked pointedly towards Hamish who shook his head. "If anyone would know, it'd be her."

Hamish gave him a stern look. “She’s a student, Randall.” 

“So it’s illegal to hit on a student?” Randall raised an eyebrow. To his knowledge there was no harm in flirting, and she wasn’t even his student. “Dude, you talk to us all the time, we’re students.”

“It’s morally wrong.” Hamish snapped back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You don’t have to like, nail her on your Philosophy desk or whatever.” Randall rolled his eyes, pulling a beer out of the fridge. “Look, all I’m saying is that you’ve got the best chance.”

Hamish shook his head before walking out of the kitchen, Lilith following after him. Grace could tell that he was annoyed, and she couldn’t exactly blame him for how Randall had been acting. She understood why they were pushing Hamish to try and get information, he would be the best person to speak with Rory due to their obvious interest in each other, but she also understood why he didn’t want to. Besides, if he was genuinely into her, he wouldn’t want to compromise that. 

“Someone’s cranky.” Randall muttered, glancing at Grace as she pulled the cupcakes from the oven. 

Grace shook her head, grabbing a bowl and beginning to mix the icing while the cupcakes cooled. “You’re also being an ass.”

Randall threw his arms up in exasperation. “Come on, it’s a potential solution.”


	3. The Grey Area

**Warnings: none**

Rory was pleasantly surprised to see Hamish at  _ The Blade and Chalice _ . She sat by the bar with one of the five standard cocktails the bar did. She supposed she shouldn’t complain - some campuses didn’t even have cocktails. She sipped the Long Island iced tea, arching an eyebrow as Hamish crossed over to her. She’d come to the bar alone today, and that was probably part of what emboldened him enough to approach her.

“Drink?” he asked.

“I’ve got one, but thanks.” Rory held up her cocktail. Hamish sat across from her. “So, I’m not high this time. What’s up?”

“Nothing. Just thought I’d come say hi.”

Rory swept her red hair over her shoulder. “Well, hi.”

“How are you?” Hamish leaned on the chair across from Rory, but did not sit down. It was as though he didn’t know whether he should or not. Rory thought it was a little endearing.

“I’m going good. You hang out with the students often?” 

She had noticed Hamish’s group of friends. It seemed as though Randall and Grace were getting along well. She had to wonder what drove an associate professor to hang out with students all the time. It was a bit of a mystery, and there was nothing she liked more than solving mysteries.

“Three of my closest friends are students.”

“I can tell.” Rory glanced across the bar at the usual table Hamish occupied along with Lilith, Randall and Grace. The trio were talking animatedly amongst themselves, and didn’t seem too surprised that Hamish had headed over to chat to Rory.

“They’re harmless enough.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Are you?”

“I’d like to think so.” Hamish smiled, before glancing back over at the table where his friends were. “I can introduce you, if you like.”

“To your friends?” Rory raised her eyebrows. She didn’t typically hang out with the dregs of society. She was considered a bit of a queen bee on campus, and she was happy with that perspective of her.

Hamish laughed. “I’m just trying, and failing it seems, to make conversation.”

“Why would you be making conversation?” she asked, although she thought she knew the answer to her own question.

“I seem to recall you saying I was cute.”

She grinned. “And you’ve decided you think I’m cute, too?”

“Perhaps.” She had the feeling that the answer was ‘yes’. Why else would he have approached the table, unless he was interested? Rory had always had a thing for older guys, but a guy who was also on the teaching staff at Belgrave was just an added bonus.

“So what’s the plan now?”

“You hungry?” He questioned, examining the plastic menu in the centre of the table. She nodded. “Wanna get some food?”

“Sure.”

Hamish sat down and pored over the menu. Rory was pretty chill with some kind of basic chips, but she couldn’t but smirk across at him. For someone who’d been so vehemently against the idea of dating a student, he was certainly starting to warm to it.

“So is this a date?”

He leaned back. “Do you want it to be?”

“That’s not what I asked.” Rory drummed her fingers on the edge of the table. Most guys were pretty forthright - like, so forthright they were gross about it and came on way too strong. Rory honestly couldn’t pinpoint Hamish’s intentions.

“I hadn’t thought about it,” he admitted.

Rory sipped the last dregs of her drink. “So it’s not an ‘oh my god, you’re a student so I can’t touch you’ situation?”

He shrugged. “You’re not my student.”

“Ah.” She felt victorious. It was only what she’d been saying the whole time. “So you’ve realised that makes a difference.”

“It creates a grey area,” he admitted. Technically he was a teacher and she was a student. But he wasn’t her teacher, and she wasn’t his student. Rory didn’t even think he was really that much older than her.

“So what’s your take on the grey area?” she asked, curious as to what his take was, where his boundaries were. He wasn’t as straight-laced as he seemed if he was considering her as a prospect. She straightened up to give him a better view of her cleavage, although his eyes were still on the menu.

“We can see how this goes.” 

“How do you want it to go?” She cocked her head to the side. Rory knew what most older guys wanted. They acted like gentlemen about it to seem mature, but they really just wanted to get into her pants.

“Haven’t thought of that yet.”

Rory slid her phone across the table. “Well, give me your number and let me know when you decide.”

Hamish tapped his number in. “It isn’t just about what I want.”

“Guess it depends if you’re more of a coffee date or come back to my dorm to fuck kinda guy.” 

Rory didn’t mind being blunt. She liked to know what she was in for. Maybe Hamish was an actual gentleman, or maybe he wasn’t. Did he know who her dad was? Was he afraid to touch her in case Edward found out?

A smile quirked at the corners of his lips. “Coffee date, and maybe a trip back to your dorm after a few dates.”

* * *

“Want some pizza?” Randall questioned, breaking through the conversation that Grace and Lilith were laughing over. He had been watching the two of them for the past half hour, but he hadn’t really paid attention. He was sure it was a very interesting conversation about something he had absolutely no interest in. “Tasty?”

Grace nibbled on the piece she had taken from the pizza. “Very.”

“Tired?” Randall could tell something was off with his friend. She had dark circles under her eyes. She nodded in confirmation, finishing the piece of pizza. “Dead people talking to you at night or something?”

“Don’t joke about it.” Grace grumbled at him, putting down the half eaten piece she had started on, her stomach turning at the thought of eating anymore. 

“Sorry, dude, I don’t know what your powers are like.” Randall sighed heavily, noting that he had well and truly annoyed his friend. “Headache? Need something for it?”

Lilith rolled her eyes at the two of them, sipping her drink as she glanced over to where Hamish was engaging in a conversation with Hamish. “Randall. Stop fussing. It’s gross.”

“You’re gross.” Randall clapped back at her, earning another eye roll from his friend. “Looks like Hamish is making progress. Still reckon he’s gonna sleep with her.”

“That wouldn’t be a terrible idea.” Lilith scowled, leaning back in her chair as she polished off the pizza. 

“He hates it. Reckons it’s like, morally wrong or something.” Randall pointed out, having heard time and time again from Hamish about how it wouldn’t be a good idea for him and Rory to sleep together. “I keep saying she isn’t his student.”

“It’s Hamish.” Lilith pointed out, finishing her drink and starting on the fries that Grace was yet to touch. “He will take forever to act on his feelings.”

“You think he has actual feelings for her?” Randall was taken aback by her comment, looking back over at where Hamish and Rory were still chatting with each other. “He barely knows her. Plus like, I’m not shaming or anything, but she kind of gets around.”

“He can decide what he wants.” Lilith shrugged, not thinking that her sleeping around would bother Hamish all too much. “Well, I have an assignment to do. I’ll see you at home.” 

Randall frowned as he watched her go, looking back at Grace as she munched on her fries. “Suddenly she’s studious?”

“No, I think she just wanted to give us time alone.” Grace pointed out to him, finishing her drink as she grinned at Randall. 

“She just feels the sexual tension.” Randall winked, knowing full well that the two of them had been dancing around their feelings for each other. 

“We should do something about that.” She smirked, finishing off her fries.

* * *

Rory noticed a familiar face as she crossed campus to head back to her dorm, one she hadn’t expected to see at Belgrave. She grinned as she walked over to the blonde man. Unexpected didn’t mean unwelcome, especially in his case. She threw her arms around him enthusiastically, and he stumbled back slightly at the forceful impact.

“Hey, Uncle Syd.”

Sydney Scott was her mum’s younger brother. He was in his late twenties, right between his sister and his niece in age. He and Rory had always been close growing up - he had always adored her and although he had despaired of her in her younger teen years, Sydney was the person that Rory trusted the most.

“Aurora.”

She arched an eyebrow at the use of her full name. “Stiff greeting for your beloved niece.”

“You’ve been hanging around that teacher a lot.” Sydney folded his arms, and she knew precisely who he was talking about. He had always been protective of her when it came to guys, especially as he knew that she liked older guys.

“Who, Hamish?” Rory scoffed, tossing her hair back. “He’s not my teacher.”

Sydney chuckled, shaking his head. “Hmm. I see what you’re doing there. Teachers and students don’t mix.”

“Seems like he’s into me.” Rory observed her uncle, tilting her head to the side. “I know that look. What don’t you like?”

“He’s closer to my age than yours.”

When she’d started high school, Rory had developed a habit of hitting on Sydney’s friends. Most of them had ignored the flirtations of his kid niece, but as she’d gotten older, some of them had taken an interest, much to Sydney’s chagrin. Not all of them had treated her well, but Sydney had dealt with those who hadn’t.

“You’re a dashing young uncle, that hardly means anything.” She flashed him a smile, before raking her hair back. “How’s Mum?”

“She’s good. You should call her. She misses you.”

That didn’t surprise Rory. Bella felt like she always needed to be in constant contact with her only child, despite the fact that Rory was almost twenty now. She groaned at the knowledge that Bella had probably told Sydney she wasn’t texting back all that often.

“It’s only been a few weeks. You know how she gets.”

“Oh, I know.” Sydney rolled his eyes. He’d had to put up with Bella for way longer than Rory, after all. “More than most.”

“Why so concerned about me, Syd?” Rory could tell that was why her uncle was working security on campus. Why else would he be, unless it was to keep an eye on Rory? Bella didn’t trust Edward, and didn’t think he always had Rory’s best interest at heart.

“You’re my favourite niece.”

She scoffed. “I’m your only niece.”

Sydney laughed. “That’s true.”

“I’m not some naive young girl being preyed upon by an older man.” She was an adult now, and didn’t need Uncle Syd to watch her back when it came to older guys.

“I trust you.”

“You didn’t a few years ago,” she pointed out. He had been right not to - Rory had made some pretty bad decisions.

“You’ve grown up.”

“I can deal with creeps on my own now.” She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. “You had some gross friends. I still remember you using magic on one of them.”

It had been the friend who’d gotten Rory pregnant when she was fifteen. He’d been closer to twenty, and Sydney had been furious that his friend had slept with his underage niece. The guy had forgotten Rory ever existed, Rory got an abortion after Bella had a fit, and that had been the end of the discussion.

“Magic is handy.” Sydney examined the backpack full of textbooks. “How’s study?”

“Boring.”

Rory rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help becoming momentarily distracted by the thought of it. Even though this was her second year, she still hadn’t quite fallen into a rhythm. The parties and Order business were one thing, and her studies were entirely another. Somehow, her business & HR degree just didn’t seem to feel right.

Sydney noticed her distraction. “You okay?”

“I’m fine, Syd.” She smiled tightly. “Just got a lot on my plate.”

“Wanna talk about it?” Sydney was always the one she could chat to about anything - boy problems, how much her parents sucked. Despite being nine years older than her, he’d always listened and never judged. She didn’t know if other people’s uncles were as cool as hers, or if she’d just got lucky.

“Order stuff mainly.” She sighed heavily. “My dad is ambitious.”

“You get that quality from him.”

Rory wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or an insult. “Is that a bad thing?”

“Not necessarily.” Sydney didn’t say it was a good thing either. She supposed it could probably work either way.

“You gonna be showing up to meetings here now that you’re working on campus?” she asked, hoping he could liven up some Order proceedings.

“I probably should.”

Rory grinned. “Excellent.”

* * *

Rory examined her neatly-written notes with a sense of frustration. Her notes were pretty and colour-coded, however she was still having trouble making sense of it. Across from her, Grace was sipping a coffee as she examined her own notes.

“How’s class going?” Grace asked, setting her mug down and looking over the table at Rory’s puzzled frown. They had agreed to have a study session in the library, and they’d even managed to smuggle some hot drinks past the staff.

“Boring as ever.” Rory scowled. “Yours?”

Grace shrugged. “They’re not too bad.”

“I notice you’re kinda friends with Hamish Duke.” Rory had noticed Grace hanging around with the group, although she couldn’t really pick why. She thought the group were kinda outcasts, and Grace seemed a little more...well, social.

“Yeah, the guy I’m seeing is one of his best friends.”

“Huh. Cute.” Rory leaned forward. She assumed Grace was referring to Randall. “Did you hear about the guy who died?”

“Some sort of animal attack, wasn’t it?” Grace asked.

Rory didn’t know the full story, but she knew he’d been a neophyte, one of the freshmen competing for a place in the Order. It wasn’t typical for a neophyte to actually die during the trials, and of course everyone suspected foul play. Vera just didn’t know yet what had actually killed him.

“Tragic.” Rory tilted her head to the side. “Dead people don’t really freak you out?”

Grace didn’t seem perturbed. “Should they?”

“Makes some people uneasy.” Rory shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t have much of a problem personally. You saw some interesting shit when you were in the Order.

Grace grinned. “Nah, not me, I talk to them.”

Rory leaned back in her seat. “You do, huh?”

“I’m joking.” Grace laughed, raking a hand through her blonde hair. “My dad is a forensic pathologist. Dead people are normal to me.”

“Your mum?” Rory had heard her talk a lot about her dad, but never about her mum.

“She died when I was ten.”

“Oh.” Rory bit her lip. “Sorry to hear that.”

Grace didn’t look like she felt insulted. “It’s okay.”

“My parents split when I was small.” Rory swept her braid over her shoulder. “I mean, they weren’t exactly together, but you know. I kinda bounce between them.”

“You close with them both?” Grace asked curiously.

“Fairly. I have a little half-brother too.” Rory smiled at the thought of Maddox. “Cute kid.”

“You’re protective of him, no doubt.” It didn’t seem like Grace had any siblings, or she didn’t mention them if she did.

“Naturally.” Rory checked the time on her phone and realised she had a few unanswered texts from Alyssa. “I should get to class.”

“Alright.” Grace started to pack up her notes, glancing up to examine Rory. “Same time tomorrow?”

Rory smiled sweetly. “Sure.”

* * *

"Hey." Randall greeted Grace as she wandered into the lounge room, bowl of popcorn in her hands. He shifted slightly on the couch, moving so that she could sit down beside him, curling into his side as he took a handful of popcorn. "So. Dead people."

Grace raised an eyebrow as she popped a piece of the popcorn in her mouth. "What about them?"

"You could totally find out who's doing this." He grinned, shovelling more food into his mouth as Grace flicked the television on. 

"It's rude to ask the dead how they died." She told him, raising an eyebrow at him. She was mildly annoyed about all the dead people talk, but she could understand how he was curious. "Especially if they died violently."

"Wouldn't make them chatty." He mused, slinging an arm around her shoulders as she snuggled closer under the blanket he had thrown over them. "There's this new kid, Jack. He's kinda weird. Intense."

"How so?" She questioned, turning her attention from where she had been flicking through Netflix. 

"Keeps rambling on about the Order. He's just obsessed with the idea of it." He explained to her, shaking his head, before looking down at her as she continued to eat the popcorn. "So. What are we?"

Grace raised an eyebrow, shifting so she could face him. "Well, you're a werewolf."

"No, you know what I mean." Randall rolled his eyes at her sarcasm, poking her in the side. “Was it just sex to you?"

"I'd like it to be more than that." She admitted, thinking about what had happened the night before as she pushed her hair from her face and crossed her legs. "If you want that."

"Sure I do." He smiled, kissing her on the cheek. "Where's Hamish tonight?"

Grace wiggled her eyebrows, and Randall knew exactly what that meant. That he was out with Rory. "Out on a date."

"Reckon he's getting info out of her, or putting something in her?" Randall cackled, knowing full well that Hamish definitely had the hots for Rory, but not knowing if his friend had it in him to actually go after her. 

"You are so gross." Lilith told Randall as she walked into the room, flopping down in front of the couch and grabbing the bowl of popcorn, glancing at the television to see what movie they had put on. Upon seeing nothing of interest she turned to look at Randall, a smirk forming over her face. "Heard you scared some freshman in the graveyard."

"It was great." Randall grinned at her, having remembered how they had screamed from seeing him chase them. 

Grace scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest and staring at him with a look of disapproval. "Of course you'd find it funny."

"You don't?" Randall glanced down at her, frowning slightly. 

"I probably would, if you hadn't done it in a graveyard." She chided him, a long sigh leaving her lips. She was going to have to educate the three of them on what was inappropriate when it came to the dead. "It's disrespectful."

"Hey, I didn't force him to go there." He defended, running a hand through his hair as he shrunk away from her glare, deciding it best to turn the conversation from it. "There was a member of the Order there too. Unmasked. It was that dickhead Kyle."

Lilith nodded, stealing more of the popcorn from Grace. “Well at least now we can keep an eye on him.” 


End file.
